Consists of Shaws Ridge to the East and Springwood Ridge on the West which are separated by a valley with a trail at it's bottom which seems to be known as Blue Gum Swamp.

Although topo maps describe the track along the top of Shaws Ridge as 'Blue Gum Swamp Track' signs in the area indicate differently. For clarity then we refer to the two ridge top tracks by the name of the ridge they are on, and call the track in the valley between the two, Blue Gum Swamp Track.

Phew - confusion out of the way - what is this place like?

Shaws and Springwood ridge are your typical undulating ridge top firetrail. At the North end of Shaws Ridge the trail drops down to meet Blue Gum Swamp though. It's a pretty steep and rough drop so take care but have some fun too. Climbing out of here is a bit of a physical challenge too (around 100m vertical in less than 1Km distance).

There's no such hilly fun on Springwood Ridge, although it undulates a fair bit so there's a few challenges about. At the North end of Springwood Ridge you'll come to Grose Mountain Lookout - very nice view.

Towards the North end of all these trails Bees Nest Hill connects the Westerly Springwood Ridge to the valley below and is another steep and rough descent. The South end of Springwood Ridge can also be reached from the valley trail (Blue Gum Swamp) by climbing out and connecting the two behind the school. In fact, before climbing up to the school one could elect to climb East back towards to the parking area on White Cross road.

Blue Gum Swamp trail in general is a joy to ride - it's quiet smooth and as it's on the valley floor gives the impression of being enclosed by leafy trees and ferns. The climb out of the South end (up to the school as already mentioned) is very tough though.

Thus, what we have here are three roughly parallel trails that can be connected roughly at each end.

There are also a few other (short) side out and back type trails to tag on - can't say anything specific about these as we didn't visit them.

Facilities/Points of Interest

There's a very nice view from Gross Mountain Lookout - end of Springwood Ridge.

There's a small parking area at the end of White Cross Road, right by the trail head.